You may have already heard about the Central Ohio Credit Corporation lawsuit. The credit corporation, which is an arm of the federal government, was sued by five consumers in a Federal Court for not meeting their debt collection agreements. In all, the suit claims that the Central Ohio Credit Corporation repeatedly violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Some legal experts believe the suit should move forward as a class-action lawsuit. If you have any information about this lawsuit, we would like to offer you some insight.
The suit itself revolves around the Central Ohio Credit Corporation engaging in an illegal scheme to collect debt from its debtors.
The court may find that the corporation’s policy, which allowed it to engage in debt collection activities without prior notice to the debtor, was unfair and therefore violates the FDCPA. You may be wondering how this could be so wrong? There are several factors which may lead to such a conclusion.
First, it is important to understand what the FDCPA is.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was passed by the U.S. Congress and signed by former President George W. Bush. According to the FDCPA, anybody who owes money to any type of credit company is required to give written notice before any collection efforts occur. The credit companies must also provide the consumers with a copy of the notice and will be liable for pursuing the debt if the consumer does not respond within a few days of the notification.
The lawsuit then revolves around the fact that the Central Ohio Credit Corporation did not abide by this law and did not provide any notice to the debtors that they were going to be collecting debt from them.
Once this action was taken, the lawsuit then moved forward. The argument may be that the credit corporations, being a publicly held institution, did not have the right to engage in this type of activity. It is important to note however that the FDCPA covers written communications between a debt collector and a debtors, while oral communications are not covered. So, if oral communications are what led up to the lawsuit being filed against the Central Ohio Credit Corporation, then this may be considered a valid argument.
The crux of the matter rests on whether or not the Central Ohio Credit Corporation violated any Federal statutes or whether or not such violations happened during the time frame when the debt collection was in effect.
If the complaint is for non-compliance of the FDCPA, then the plaintiff may be able to obtain compensatory damages as well as an injunction on further collections. On the other hand, if the complaint is for a violation of the statute, the court may grant the plaintiff a judgement in damages as well as an injunction. If the corporation’s directors were negligent in this case, they could be subject to monetary fines and could even be sent to jail. Whether or not such violations occurred will be determined by an examining attorney.
Because the details involved can be complex, it is very best to retain the services of an experienced legal team.
A local attorney who has experience in handling these types of cases will have all of the knowledge needed to win the case for the plaintiff. If you have been a victim of poor credit collection practices, you may have a case on your hands. But, it is vital to retain an attorney that is familiar with Ohio law so that he or she is fully prepared to protect your rights and to move forward with your claim. If you feel that you are a victim of such illegal credit practices, contact an attorney today for a consultation.